A five-part series on the fight for union rights on British Columbia's highways.
When B.C.'s provincial government privatized highways maintenance in 1988, workers organized through the BCGEU to win successorship rights—the ability to keep their union contract under new private employers. That fight didn't end there. Again and again over nearly four decades, workers have had to find new ways to defend those rights.
Told through the eyes of union leaders Rory Smith and Travis Sandberg, this series traces that fight from its origins to the present. As B.C. highways workers head into a new round of bargaining in 2026, it breaks down what's at stake, and what it will take to protect workers and maintain highways maintenance into the future.
Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note. (https://rss.com/podcasts/our-roads-our-future/voicemail)
For the final episode, Rory and Travis discuss lessons BCGEU members have learned over the decades-long fight to protect union rights in the highways sector, as well as what members need to know about the current round of collective bargaining in 2026/2027.
Learn more about highways sector bargaining: bcgeu.ca/highways-bargaining (https://www.bcgeu.ca/highways-bargaining)
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Show Credits:
Rory Smith has worked in the highways sector since 1988 and is BCGEU vice-president, Operational Services (Component 10).
Travis Sandberg is a heavy duty mechanic and third generation highways worker. From local 1008, he is the first vice-chair, Operational Services, on the Component 10 executive.
Our Roads, Our Future is produced by the BC General Employees' Union communications staff represented by the BC Union Workers Union.
Music is by AudioZen
8 Sept 2026
The stories that saved successorship
Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note. (https://rss.com/podcasts/our-roads-our-future/voicemail)
Travis and Rory discuss highways workers’ campaign to build public support for labour successorship in the 2010s. “Local crew know local roads” was a slogan built around the idea that retaining experienced road crews leads to safer outcomes on highways for local communities. Rory recalls the high-level meeting with the provincial government that helped finally change the government’s mind about successorship.
Learn more about highways sector bargaining in 2026/2027: bcgeu.ca/highways-bargaining (https://www.bcgeu.ca/highways-bargaining)
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Show Credits:
Rory Smith has worked in the highways sector since 1988 and is BCGEU vice-president, Operational Services (Component 10).
Travis Sandberg is a heavy duty mechanic and third generation highways worker. From local 1008, he is the first vice-chair, Operational Services, on the Component 10 executive.
Our Roads, Our Future is produced by the BC General Employees' Union communications staff represented by the BC Union Workers Union.
Music is by AudioZen
1 Sept 2026
Collective bargaining in secret
Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note. (https://rss.com/podcasts/our-roads-our-future/voicemail)
Travis and Rory discuss several key instances where BCGEU highways worker almost lost their union contract successorship rights. This started in 2002 when the BC Liberal government vowed to end successorship within a ten-year horizon. This led to a series of difficult decisions and tradeoffs for members, and culminated in an unprecedented round of secret collective bargaining with private sector employers to try to circumvent the government’s agenda.
Learn more about highways sector bargaining in 2026/2027: bcgeu.ca/highways-bargaining (https://www.bcgeu.ca/highways-bargaining)
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Show Credits:
Rory Smith has worked in the highways sector since 1988 and is BCGEU vice-president, Operational Services (Component 10).
Travis Sandberg is a heavy duty mechanic and third generation highways worker. From local 1008, he is the first vice-chair, Operational Services, on the Component 10 executive.
Our Roads, Our Future is produced by the BC General Employees' Union communications staff represented by the BC Union Workers Union.
Music is by AudioZen
25 Aug 2026
1987: The privatization fight and how highways workers won successorship
Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note. (https://rss.com/podcasts/our-roads-our-future/voicemail)
Travis and Rory take a deeper dive into the BCGEU’s first battle for successorship rights for highways workers when the British Columbia government privatized highways maintenance operations in 1987.
BCGEU staff researcher Liam McLure joins them to discuss the long-term effects of road maintenance privatization.
Watch Turning Point the full documentary produced by the BCGEU in 1993: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSugFzulTrI (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSugFzulTrI)
Learn more about highways sector bargaining in 2026/2027: bcgeu.ca/highways-bargaining (https://www.bcgeu.ca/highways-bargaining)
--- Show Credits:
Rory Smith has worked in the highways sector since 1988 and is BCGEU vice-president, Operational Services (Component 10).
Travis Sandberg is a heavy duty mechanic and third generation highways worker. From local 1008, he is the first vice-chair, Operational Services, on the Component 10 executive.
Our Roads, Our Future is produced by the BC General Employees' Union communications staff represented by the BC Union Workers Union.
Music is by AudioZen
13 Aug 2026
What successorship is and why it matters now
Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note. (https://rss.com/podcasts/our-roads-our-future/voicemail)
In this episode long time B.C. highways workers Travis and Rory break down the concept of labour successorship: the ability for workers to keep their union contract, even when their employment is handed over to a new company.
When the provincial government sought to privatize highways maintenance to private contractors in the 1980s, successorship became a pivotal battle to ensure stability for workers.
Learn more about highways sector bargaining in 2026/2027: bcgeu.ca/highways-bargaining (https://www.bcgeu.ca/highways-bargaining)
Show Credits:
Rory Smith has worked in the highways sector since 1988 and is currently the Vice-President of BCGEU's Operational Services Component (Component 10).
Travis Sandberg is heavy duty mechanic and third generation highways worker - he currently is the First Vice-Chairperson of the BCGEU Component 10 Executive.
Our Roads, Our Future is produced by the BC General Employees' Union Communications Staff represented by the BC Union Workers Union
Music is by AudioZen
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